Postponement of affect
Encyclopedia
Postponement of affect
is a defence mechanism
which may be used against a variety of feelings or emotions. Such a 'temporal displacement, resulting simply in a later appearance of the affect reaction and in thus preventing the recognition of the motivating connection, is...most frequently used against the affects of rage (or annoyance) and grief'.
, postponement seems to be an essential component. What happens in mourning is nothing other than a gradual "working-through" of an affect which, if released in its full strength, would overwhelm the ego'. John Bowlby
considered the first of the "four phases of mourning" to be a 'Phase of numbness that...may be interrupted by outbursts of extremely intense distress and/or anger'. Thus one can speak of 'a rather typical postponement of grief': '"I feel hurt about something and then automatically this kind of shields things up and then I feel like I can't really touch or feel anything very much"...postponement...[of] the weepiness'.
Conversely, Eric Lindemann, describing 'the symptomatology and management of acute grief following the Coconut Grove
night-club fire...showed that people who do not "break down" and express feelings appropriate to a bereavement may suffer from delayed or distorted grief'.
, where the sufferer may be 'the victim...of a blocked fear tension...he hadn't had the time to feel the fear'.
'The postponement of fright is so well known to movie writers that it is not only frequently used but also designated by a special term: double-take'.
A similar postponement of guilt may be seen in everyday life, as when 'a woman may decide that her Superego will permit her to have an abortion...[but] may begin to feel guilty many years afterwards and perhaps break down when she is forty of fifty under the long-continued reproaches of her Superego'.
In pathological form something similar would seem to occur 'during a melancholic attack', or so Freud surmised: the 'super-ego becomes over-severe, abuses the poor ego...reproaches it for actions in the remotest past which had been taken lightly at the time - as though it had spent the whole interval in collecting accusations and had only been waiting for its current access of strength in order to bring them up'.
Conversely, 'people who can muster the courage to face up to their guilt...will not suffer as long from the agony of the cognitive rehearsal of the guilt situation as people who postpone facing up to their guilt'.
as a process which 'demands and carries into effect the postponement of satisfaction...and the temporary toleration of unpleasure as a step on the long indirect road to pleasure'. Such impulse control has been seen as a key component in emotional intelligence
. 'The ability to delay gratification
contributes powerfully to intellectual potential quite apart from IQ itself', while what has been called '"goal-directed self-imposed delay of gratification" is perhaps the essence of emotional self-regulation: the ability to deny impulse in the service of a goal'.
Similarly, among the defence mechanisms, as part of 'the mature ways of dealing with real stress...there's suppression - instead of repressing a frightening feeling and pushing it right out of awareness, you hold it in check and bear the discomfort of feeling it. That means you are more likely to be able to work out how to handle it, given a bit of time'. In this sense, 'delaying, as opposed to avoidance, is a fine mechanism, another form of the method of learning I call step-by-step'.
's Last Things, the narrator describes how his brother 'had developed the habit, not uncommon in men who had seen many things go wrong, of deliberately slowing himself down, of adapting the displeasing to his own pace'.
Affect (psychology)
Affect refers to the experience of feeling or emotion. Affect is a key part of the process of an organism's interaction with stimuli. The word also refers sometimes to affect display, which is "a facial, vocal, or gestural behavior that serves as an indicator of affect" .The affective domain...
is a defence mechanism
Defence mechanism
In Freudian psychoanalytic theory, defence mechanisms are unconscious psychological strategies brought into play by various entities to cope with reality and to maintain self-image. Healthy persons normally use different defences throughout life...
which may be used against a variety of feelings or emotions. Such a 'temporal displacement, resulting simply in a later appearance of the affect reaction and in thus preventing the recognition of the motivating connection, is...most frequently used against the affects of rage (or annoyance) and grief'.
Grief
'In the affect of griefGrief
Grief is a multi-faceted response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something to which a bond was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and philosophical dimensions...
, postponement seems to be an essential component. What happens in mourning is nothing other than a gradual "working-through" of an affect which, if released in its full strength, would overwhelm the ego'. John Bowlby
John Bowlby
Edward John Mostyn "John" Bowlby was a British psychologist, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, notable for his interest in child development and for his pioneering work in attachment theory.- Family background :...
considered the first of the "four phases of mourning" to be a 'Phase of numbness that...may be interrupted by outbursts of extremely intense distress and/or anger'. Thus one can speak of 'a rather typical postponement of grief': '"I feel hurt about something and then automatically this kind of shields things up and then I feel like I can't really touch or feel anything very much"...postponement...[of] the weepiness'.
Conversely, Eric Lindemann, describing 'the symptomatology and management of acute grief following the Coconut Grove
Cocoanut Grove fire
The Cocoanut Grove was Boston's premier nightclub during the post-Prohibition 1930s and 40s. On November 28, 1942, occurred the scene of what remains the deadliest nightclub fire, killing 492 people and injuring hundreds more...
night-club fire...showed that people who do not "break down" and express feelings appropriate to a bereavement may suffer from delayed or distorted grief'.
Fright
Investigation of 'the reaction of the ego to acute mortal danger...repeatedly found an absence of fear during the period of acute danger, but a subsequent appearance of acute fear when the danger was past'. This may be a contributing factor in post-traumatic stress disorderPost-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
, where the sufferer may be 'the victim...of a blocked fear tension...he hadn't had the time to feel the fear'.
'The postponement of fright is so well known to movie writers that it is not only frequently used but also designated by a special term: double-take'.
Guilt
Defence against guilt feelings may involve people using postponement by way of 'an isolation of guilt feeling...they do things without any guilt feeling, and experience an exaggerated feeling of guilt on some other occasion without being aware of the connection'. Such postponement can be linked to Nietzsche's concept of the "pale criminal" or 'neurotic immoralist...the "pale felon" who does not live up to his acts' - retrospective guilt: 'he was equal to his deed when he did it; but he could not bear its image after it was done...now the lead of his guilt lies upon him'.A similar postponement of guilt may be seen in everyday life, as when 'a woman may decide that her Superego will permit her to have an abortion...[but] may begin to feel guilty many years afterwards and perhaps break down when she is forty of fifty under the long-continued reproaches of her Superego'.
In pathological form something similar would seem to occur 'during a melancholic attack', or so Freud surmised: the 'super-ego becomes over-severe, abuses the poor ego...reproaches it for actions in the remotest past which had been taken lightly at the time - as though it had spent the whole interval in collecting accusations and had only been waiting for its current access of strength in order to bring them up'.
Conversely, 'people who can muster the courage to face up to their guilt...will not suffer as long from the agony of the cognitive rehearsal of the guilt situation as people who postpone facing up to their guilt'.
Positive postponement: suppression
Freud saw the development of the reality principleReality principle
In Freudian psychology, the reality principle is the psychoanalytic concept describing circumstantial reality compelling a man or a woman to defer instant gratification...
as a process which 'demands and carries into effect the postponement of satisfaction...and the temporary toleration of unpleasure as a step on the long indirect road to pleasure'. Such impulse control has been seen as a key component in emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is a skill or ability in the case of the trait EI model, a self-perceived ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups. Various models and definitions have been proposed of which the ability and trait EI models are the most...
. 'The ability to delay gratification
Deferred gratification
Deferred gratification and delayed gratification denote a person’s ability to wait in order to obtain something that he or she wants. This intellectual attribute is also called impulse control, will power, self control, and “low” time preference, in economics...
contributes powerfully to intellectual potential quite apart from IQ itself', while what has been called '"goal-directed self-imposed delay of gratification" is perhaps the essence of emotional self-regulation: the ability to deny impulse in the service of a goal'.
Similarly, among the defence mechanisms, as part of 'the mature ways of dealing with real stress...there's suppression - instead of repressing a frightening feeling and pushing it right out of awareness, you hold it in check and bear the discomfort of feeling it. That means you are more likely to be able to work out how to handle it, given a bit of time'. In this sense, 'delaying, as opposed to avoidance, is a fine mechanism, another form of the method of learning I call step-by-step'.
Literary examples
In C. P. SnowC. P. Snow
Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow of the City of Leicester CBE was an English physicist and novelist who also served in several important positions with the UK government...
's Last Things, the narrator describes how his brother 'had developed the habit, not uncommon in men who had seen many things go wrong, of deliberately slowing himself down, of adapting the displeasing to his own pace'.
See also
- AfterburnAfterburn (psychotherapy)-Berne's formulation:Eric Berne, the founding father of transactional analysis, used the term "afterburn" to indicate the effect an atypical past event continues to exert on a person's daily schedule, activities and mental state even after it is over: to 'those occasions when it disturbs normal...
- GuiltGuiltGuilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense. It is also a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person realizes or believes—accurately or not—that he or she has violated a moral standard, and bears significant responsibility for that...
- ProcrastinationProcrastinationIn psychology, procrastination refers to the act of replacing high-priority actions with tasks of low-priority, and thus putting off important tasks to a later time...
- George Eman VaillantGeorge Eman VaillantGeorge Eman Vaillant, M.D. is an American psychiatrist and Professor at Harvard Medical School and Director of Research for the Department of Psychiatry, . Dr. Vaillant has spent his research career charting adult development and the recovery process of schizophrenia, heroin addiction,...
- Thought suppressionThought suppressionThought suppression is the process of deliberately trying to stop thinking about certain thoughts . It is often associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder, in which a sufferer will repeatedly attempt to prevent or "neutralize" intrusive distressing thoughts centered around one or more obsessions...
- Deferred obedience
- Grief counselingGrief counselingGrief counseling is a form of psychotherapy that aims to help people cope with grief and mourning following the death of loved ones, or with major life changes that trigger feelings of grief ....
Further reading
- Silvan Tomkins, Affect Imagery Consciousness (1962)